In recent months, reports have emerged of police officers allegedly stalking former romantic partners by misusing automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) operated by Flock Safety. However, few details about these incidents have been made public. The Institute for Justice has documented numerous cases of ALPR abuse.
Now, documents obtained through a public records request allow WIRED to reveal specific details about a surveillance campaign involving Flock Safety technology, the subsequent internal investigation and its fallout.
Dustin Bozzo, who worked as a patrol officer in the Atlanta-area community of Alpharetta, Georgia, is accused of using Flock’s ALPR system 56 times between March and May to search for the license plate of an ex-girlfriend who also worked for the Alpharetta Police Department. The documents state that their relationship violated the city’s ban on workplace dating. After noticing that her former boyfriend’s vehicle was frequently near another police officer’s vehicle, Bozzo allegedly searched that officer’s license plate 29 times between March and May.
Alpharetta Police Department Lieutenant Jason Hiott told WIRED that Bozzo was placed on paid administrative leave on July 20 and resigned on August 5 after an internal investigation. The department also said that a criminal investigation by its Criminal Investigation Division remained ongoing.
Alpharetta Police Chief Trent Lindgren told WIRED that the investigation would likely conclude soon. He said the department maintains “high standards” and took “immediate action” after identifying the alleged misuse of the surveillance system. Flock Safety did not respond to requests for comment.
Bozzo did not respond to multiple requests for comment. After WIRED contacted him through Facebook, he changed his profile picture and name.
In the civilian world, a breakup might lead someone to search an ex-partner’s social media accounts. In law enforcement, however, many officers have immediate access to Flock’s powerful automatic license plate reader network, which can be used to identify and track vehicles and reconstruct people’s movements. Across the country, at least 45 incidents have been documented in which police officers allegedly used ALPR systems to locate or monitor current or former romantic partners.
The documents include a full internal report prepared by Alpharetta Police Sergeant Jabbar Braithwaite. The report states that Bozzo did not use Flock to threaten or harm anyone. Even so, the events described in the report demonstrate how quickly and easily misuse of police surveillance technology can escalate into a serious violation of privacy—and potentially a criminal investigation.
According to the internal report, Bozzo admitted to Braithwaite that he had an affair with a fellow police officer beginning in late 2025. That officer is now a civilian employee of the department. The former officer said that most, if not all, of their romantic communications took place through Snapchat.
The documents do not establish how long the relationship continued during work hours. When Bozzo was initially asked whether he had “ever been romantically involved” with the former officer, he responded, “On the job?”
“To clarify the question, I asked whether at any time while employed or otherwise, he and [redacted] had a sexual relationship,” Braithwaite wrote. “Patrol Officer Bozzo responded that they had a sexual relationship.”
The former officer also acknowledged having a sexual relationship with Bozzo but claimed that it never occurred while the officer was on duty. Nevertheless, their conduct had drawn the attention of multiple people within the department.
According to the documents, several officials reported that Bozzo and the other officer “frequently spent personal time together while on duty” and were “not engaged in their assigned responsibilities.” In response, the police department separated the officers within their squad and patrol unit and issued “written instructions” concerning “acceptable workplace interactions.”
Despite those measures, the officers apparently continued meeting. A sergeant reported seeing Bozzo and the other officer together in a “dark, secluded park” at approximately 2:30 a.m. Bozzo was on duty at the time, while the other officer was not, according to Braithwaite’s summary.
Source: www.wired.com